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Published by The Critograph on Nov. 16, 2016
Katherine Graves, Assistant Editor-

Graphic by Brittany Peck.

When Lynchburg’s only dollar theater, Cinemark Movies 10, closed a year ago, college students and anyone else who didn’t want to spend $10 or more to see a movie in a theater were left with few options other than Redbox and Netflix. With the opening of Venue Cinemas on Lakeside Drive, five minutes from the college, students can now see films for a maximum of only $3.

Compared to every other theater that Lynchburg has had, Venue Cinemas surpasses them in prices, as well as in comfortable seating in theaters where your shoes actually don’t stick to the floor. However, compared to Regal Cinemas at the River Ridge Mall, Venue Cinemas is still lacking in food options and stadium seating.

The ticket prices at Venue Cinemas are the major factor in alluring people to visit the theater. The most you will pay for a ticket at Venue is $3 on a Friday or Saturday night; tickets are $2.75 Sunday through Thursday night. Matinees, which are any film before 6 p.m., are $2.25. With these beautiful prices, the cost of one ticket at Regal is more than the cost of three at Venue.

The films that are shown at Venue Cinemas are not films that have been freshly released. But they also are not films that have been out long enough that you can purchase them on DVD, which was usually the case with the dollar theater. If you can wait a few weeks on newly released films, you can save yourself $7 by seeing them at Venue instead of the Regal.

The food options at Venue Cinemas are unfortunately lacking. Unlike Regal, you cannot buy corn dog nuggets, hot dogs, pretzels or pizza. Venue does have popcorn and nachos, but the popcorn was mediocre, even if it is cheaper than Regal. Venue also has many of the same common candy options you can purchase at other theaters.

Venue Cinemas does have all the same drink options as Regal; they have the same soda options and our beloved ICEEs in all the same flavors.

The benefit of the ticket prices at Venue being so low is that you are more capable of treating yourself because you can pay for popcorn and a movie ticket for around the same price as just a movie ticket at Regal.

The seating for Venue is actually quite nice compared to any theater other than Regal that has been in Lynchburg. The seats appear to be new, and the theater was surprisingly clean. Venue does not have the stadium seating that is in all Regal theaters; however, the seats are on a slope so that, if you are trapped sitting behind someone tall, it will not be as bad as if you were on the exact same level as them.

The atmosphere of Venue is pleasant because the business is new and perhaps in a location where there is less of a crowd than at Regal. When I saw “Lights Out” at 9 p.m. on a Sunday, my boyfriend, his friend and I were the only ones in the theater. If you want to see a film at any hour other than the 7 p.m., when everyone seems to want to see a movie, you might find yourself happily alone in one of these new theaters too.

Overall, Venue Cinemas stacks up well compared to other theaters. Although you can only have a dinner of popcorn and nachos there, the prices are fantastically cheap.

If you need a break from being on campus or an option for a reasonably priced date, you can treat yourself to a cheap movie at Venue, just down the road from campus.

Venue Cinemas is located at 901 Lakeside Drive, behind the Plaza shopping center.

To find out more information about the theater and its movie schedule, you can visit Venue Cinemas’ website or Facebook page.